A COUPLE forced out of their 'dream' home to make way for a new highway say
the stress of the situation is slowly destroying them.

Graeme Mullis, 67, and his wife Jacquline, 56, were served with a Compulsory
Purchase Order on their two-bedroom house in Salobrena in June as part of
development plans for the A7.

They were given a month to move out and agreed a compensation package of
150,000 euros, which they were told would not be paid for at least two
years.

But despite being reassured by a government official in Almunecar that the
CPO contract could be used to secure a bank loan in the interim, the expats
have been turned down by six Spanish banks.

Mullis, originally from South Wales, said: "To go from being a very happy
couple living in what we felt was our dream home to living on a very low
budget with so many extra costs, we feel is slowly destroying us."

The couple is currently living in a small terraced house in Lanjaron - part
owned by English teacher Jacquline - but they stress it is only a temporary
solution and they may be forced to return to the UK.

"Everything I have worked so hard for all my life has been taken away
overnight, we don't know which way to turn."